A valid WKU identification card (Big Red Card or Friends of the Library Card) is required
to check out any library materials.

Public Service Hours

There will be someone to assist you at the Circulation Desk the following hours:

Monday - Friday

7:45 a.m. - 11:30 p.m.

Saturday

9:00 a.m. - 11:30 p.m.

Sunday

1:00 p.m. - 11:30 p.m.

Loan Periods

Student Borrowers

The loan period for most circulating library materials is four weeks for students.
Audiovisual materials circulate for seven days. There is a limit of 10 items per type
of AV material. Renewals can either be made at the libraries or online at TOPCAT. There are no telephone renewals. Items on hold or recall may not be renewed.

Faculty and Staff

The loan period for most library materials is one semester. Leisure books circulate
for four weeks, and audiovisual materials for one week. There is a limit of 10 items
per type of AV material. Renewals can be made at the libraries or online. However,
no renewals will be allowed if there are recalled items outstanding on the patron
record.

Friends of the Library

Friends of WKU Libraries may borrow circulating library materials for four weeks,
audiovisual materials for one week.

To become a "Friend," you may contact the WKU Libraries.

Returns

Checked out items may be returned to the Circulation Desk on the 4th floor, the VPAL
Desk on the 2nd floor, or at any of the branch libraries. There are also book returns
located at the Java City entrance and outside the 4th floor entrance to the Cravens
library.

Fines

Fines are $.10 per day per item. When the fine on an item reaches $6.00, the item
is declared lost, and the patron will be charged the replacement cost of the item
plus a $35.00 processing fee. A lost item that is returned will only accrue the $6.00
overdue fine. Students are not required to pay fines until the total of their fines
reaches $5.00, at which point the student is blocked from checking out or renewing
any library materials, registering for classes, adding/dropping classes, receiving
a diploma, or sending a transcript until the fines are paid. Faculty and staff are
blocked when their total reaches $50.00, at which point they cannot check out or renew
any library materials until the matter is resolved.

Fines for overdue reserve materials are $.25 per hour or $.75 per day per item.

Fines can be paid at the Circulation Desk on the 4th Floor of the Cravens Library.
They may also be paid by phone with a credit card. Please call 270-745-3951 for more
information.

Searches

Students, faculty, and staff may fill out a Search card at the Circulation Desk for
an item not found on the shelf that is not checked out. Library staff will search
for the item, and once the item is found it is held at the Circulation Desk on the
4th floor of the Cravens Library for one week, and the patron is notified by a mailed
notice or by telephone.

Holds

A Hold is a request to have a book or other library material that is currently checked
out to another patron held at the Circulation Desk when it is returned. Holds can
be placed from the TopCat page for a particular book. A hold request can also be
filled out in person at the Circulation Desk or online here.

Recalls

A Recall is a request to get a book or other item that is checked out to another patron
back as soon as possible. Recalls can placed from the TopCat page for a particular
item. An item can also be recalled at the Circulation Desk or by this online form. All library materials are subject to recall for use by another patron.

If an item is recalled, please return it to the library as soon as possible. Recalled
items not returned by the new due date accrue fines at $1 per day. If you fail to
return a recalled item, your library borrowing privileges will be blocked automatically
by the circulation system and you will be billed for the replacement cost of the book,
plus a $35.00 processing fee. Friends of the libraries do not have recall privileges.

Laptops

The library has laptops available for checkout by faculty and students at the Circulation
Desk on the 4th floor of Cravens. They check out for a maximum of three hours* and
do not leave the library. They have access to the wireless network in the library
as well as floppy disk and DVD drives and lots of software. There is a form to be
filled out before checking out a laptop, and an instruction sheet/map of the wireless
coverage area is provided. Overdue fines are $0.10 per minute.

*Laptops checked out within four hours of closing are always due back one hour before
the library closes.